A team from the law firm of Greenberg Traurig have published a lengthy article on an interesting trend: an increase in the number of putative class-action lawsuits alleging violations of a debt collection regulation in Massachusetts, even though there is no private right of action under the rule, known as the MDCR.
While the MDCR does not have a private right of action, lawsuits are being filed under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (MCPA). The particular area of focus that plaintiffs are honing in on is the MDCR’s provision regarding how many calls a collector can make to an individual in a given week, even if the individual does not answer the phone and the collector does not leave a voicemail message.
Along with the frequency-of-calls provision, the article lays out the other scenarios in which a putative class-action might be filed under the MCPA for potential violations of the MDCR, including contact with Debtors, contact with persons residing in the household of a debtor, contact with other persons regarding a debt, general unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and validation of debts.
The firm wraps up the in-depth article by concluding: “companies engaged in debt collection should review their policies and procedures for collecting debts from Massachusetts residents to ensure compliance with the MDCR.”
